Apparatus for mounting filaments of incandescent lamps



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. LEMP.

APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING THE PILAMENTS OF INGANDESGENT LAMPS.

No. 392,159. Patented Oct. 30, 1888.

Witnesses,

lnvento 7'; jfgrmann Lmp,

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

. H. LEMP.

APPAMXTUS FOR MOUNTING THE FILAMENTS 0P INGANDESOENT LAMPS.

No. 392,159. Patented Oct. 30, 1888.

lVitne-sses.

UNITED STATES PATENT Caries,

HERMANN LEMP, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE THOMSON- HOUSTON ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CONNECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING FILAMENTS OF INCANDESCENT LAMPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,159, dated October 30, 1888.

Application filed May 31,1888. Serial so. 275,638. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, HERMANN LEMP, of Lynn, county of Essex, and State of Massachusetts, havcinvented an Improvement in Apparatus for Mounting the Filaments of Incandescent Lamps, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to a machine or apparatus for mounting the filaments of incandes: cent lamps, and is intendedto be used in making thejoint between the ends of the carbon filament 'and the leading-in wire by deposition of carbon at the joint.

In another application filed herewith I have described a method Ofmaking a jointby thermal deposition of carbon, which method is applicable for the purpose of making the joint between the carbon and leading-in wire, and

the apparatus forming the subject of this invention may be employed for making the joint in accordance with that method, although itis not limited to such use.

The apparatus forming the subject of this invention embodies appliances for holding the leading-in wires and filament in proper position with relation to one another during the operation of making the carbon deposit by which the said parts are mechanically and electrically united, and, in addition to this function of supporting the parts to be thus united, a portion of said appliances also serve to convey the current by which the parts are heated to cause the deposition of carbon to take place. The joint between the filament and metallic conductors is usually made after the metallic conductors have been sealed into the neck of the lamp,but before the globe that incloses the filament has been attached to the neck.

The apparatus forming the subject of this invention comprises a support or holder for holding the metallic conductors either with or without the neck of the lamp attached theret0,and a support or holder for holding the filament in proper position with relation to the metallic conductors andcircuit-connecting devices, by which the portion of the conductors on which the deposit is to be formed may be placed in circuit to receive the current by which the said conductors are heated when immersed in a fluid that deposits carbon under the influence of heat in the well-known manner.

Figure 1 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying this invention for forming the joint between the ends of a carbon filamentand metallic conductors, Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a detail showing the support for the metallic conductors in side elevation;

Figs. 4 and 5, sectional details on line a: and y of Fig. 1, showing the supports and circuitconnecting devices for the carbon filament. Fig. 6 is a side elevation, with part in longitudinal section, representing a modification 6 used for carbons and metallic conductors of different shape from those used with the apparatus represented in Figs. 1 to 5; Fig. 7, a plan View of the instrument represented in Fig. 6, and Figs. 8, 9, and 10 details representing the several supports or clamps in elevation.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is adapted to be used with a filament, a, that is which a portion of said wires are embedded.

As shown in this instance, the ends of said wires are bent outward, flattened, and provided with openings, through which the ends of the filament a are passed, so that the said wires will be firmly united with the filament by a deposit built up on the filament, as indicated in dotted lines, for a portion of its length at either side of the point which passes through the opening in the metallic conductor.

The apparatus forming the subject of this go I invention is intended to hold the conductors b and filament a in the proper position with re lation to one another while such deposit is being formed on the filament, and the instrument comprises a standor support, d, (best shown in 5 Fig. 3,) that sustains the metallic conductors, as shown, in proper position with relation to the filament a. The parts of the instrument are'supported on a base, A, of insulating material, and the support d is of-insulating ma- Ico terial supported on the end of an arm, d", pivotedatd on astand orupright,d,andacted upon by a spring, (2, that presses the block (1 down upon the metal conductors resting onthe stand (1. The clamping device maybe readily lifted against the stress of the spring at to release the metallic conductors and permit the insertion of others. The base A is also provided with two supports, 0 e, which should be made of copper or other conductive material, and are provided with shoulders at their upper ends, upon which the extremities of the filament rest, as shown, after passing through the openings in the ends of the metallic conductors b. The ends of the filament are held upon these support-s by clamping-jaws c c, pivoted upon uprights e e and acted upon by springs c e", that tend to press the ends of the jaws 0 against the sides of the flat filament, so as to hold the same firmly, as shown in Fig. i.

One entire support and cooperating clamp is insulated from the other, each being connected with a conductive strip, c a, supported on the base A, and constituting the conductors by which the current is carried to and from the filament.

The body of the filament a may be further supported, if required, upon a platform, B, which is shown as provided with an adj ustable gage, B, that may be used to set the filaments in proper position to give uniformity in length of a number of filaments successively treated in the machine.

in order that the current may pass through only a small portion of the filament at each side of the ends of the connecting-wires b, circuit-connecting devices are provided consisting ofuprightsjif,ofconductivc material,elcctrically connected together by a conductingbase, f, said uprights touching the branches of the filament a at a short distance from the ends of the metallic conductors I), and in order to make a good electrical contact the branches of the filament are pressed against the uprights /'f by clamping dcvicesff, which may consist of blocks of copper supported on springs f 'f, themselves supported on nprightsf 7" on the base A.

in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the springsf f" extend by the ends of the clampingjaws c 0", so that the one operation of pressing together the handle ends of said clamping-jaws, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 11 ,will wholly release the filament, and by then raising the clamp for the metallic conductors the joined carbon and filament may be removed from the machine and new ones insorted.

In order to make the joint afterthe filament and conductors have been supported and clamped in proper position with relation to one another, as shown in Fig. 1, the terminals of the current-supplying circuit are connected with the strips c e, the current passing from one of said strips, as c, to the clamp e e and one end of the filament, thence along the said filament to the circuit-connector ff, thence across by the connection f to the connector ff", thence along the filament to the other clamp, c e, and out by the strip 0'. The current is applied in this manner while the instrument is immersed in a fluid bath that de posits carbon under the action of heat, and as all the conductors that are in circuit,with the exception of the short portions of the filament, are of low resistance, a very large current may be employed, causing a very rapid deposit on the short portions of the filament between the clamps that engage it, which deposit, when it builds out, engages and surrounds the ends of the metallic conductors through which the filament is passed.

Theinvention is not limited to the specific construction and shape of the supports and holders thus far described, as they may be modified in order to cooperate with conductors and filaments of various kinds.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 6 to 10, inclusive, the metallic conductors b b are sealed into a tubular neck, 0, of glass, and the J support it for the main conductors is of proper shape to receive such neck, which is held socurely thereon by a clamp, d" shown as consisting of a spring-strip supported on up rights (1 provided with projections at their upper ends, which may be screw-heads, as shown, having a smaller neck between said. projections and the upright. The spring (1 has a slot of a width equal to the diameter of the neck,and at one end an opening communicating with said slot large enough to permit the passage of the head through it, as clearly shown in Fig. 7. By slipping the spring along .in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 7, until the opening comes in line with the head, the spring will be released and may be turned aside to a permit the removal of the lamp-necks E, and a reverse movement will fasten the clamp after another lam p-ncck has been placed in position.

The devices that support and clamp the end of the filament a may be constructed as best shown in Fig. 10, each of said devices consisting of an upright, 0 provided with a stationary arm, 0', that rests beneath the filament a, and a clamping-arm, e', pivoted in said upright and acted upon by a spring, 0', that tends to hold it down upon the filament a. The arm 0' is slotted, as shown at a, where it engages its pivot, so that it can he slipped laterally off from the filament a when the latter is to be released, a handle, a, facilitating the manipulation of the clamp-arm 0'.

The circuit-connecting device, by which the main portion of the filament is short-circuited and the current carried across from one to the other of the two short portions on which the deposit is to be formed, consists of a supporting-lever,f (best shown in Fig. 9,) pivotally supported on an upright, f, and a firm contact between said support and filament is offcctcd by a clamping-lever, f, pivoted upon an upright, f and adapted to be acted upon at its other end by a spring-holdenf which presses it against the filament. The pivoting of the lever f causes the pressure on the two sides of the filament to be equal. After the deposit has been made in substantially the same way as before described the lamp-neck O and connected filament may be removed by first turning aside the springf and lifting up the clamp f then slipping back the two clamping-arms c and then turning aside the clamp d", after which a new lamp-neck and filament may be placed in proper position with relation to one another, being supported and held in such position while a joint is being made.

I claim 1.. In a machine for mounting filaments, a pair of insulated supports for the two branches of the filament and pivoted clamping-jaws cooperating therewith, and a pair of connected conductors engaging the branches of the filaments, and spring-clamps co-operating therewith and extended to be engaged and operated by the pivoted clamping-jaws, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a machine for mounting filaments, the combination, with the support that holds the each leg may be brought into proximity but out of electrical contact with adjacent parts -of 3 5 said conductors.

3. In a machine for mounting filaments, the combination, with a bar extending across from one to the other leg of the filament and pivoted between them, of a bar also extending across from one to the other leg of the filament and constituting, with the pivoted bar, a clamp for the filament, and a short-circuit connection between the two legs of the filament, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

I'IERMANN LEMP.

Witnesses:

A. L. ROHRER, E. WILBUR Bron, Jr. 

